Sean Edwards triumphs over strong opposition
Stuttgart. A strong driver trio at the front dominated round two of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. In the end it was Sean Edwards (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) who clinched a flag-to-flag victory. With a 0.9-second advantage over Frenchman Kévin Estre (Hermes Attempto Racing) in second, the vice-champion of last year brought his 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup over the finish line in first place. Third position went to René Rast (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit – Team Pole Promotion), who was able to extend his lead in Germany’s fastest one-make series after his victory at yesterday’s season-opening race.Making a superb getaway from the pole, Sean Edwards immediately took the lead and initially pulled slightly clear of his pursuers – but it didn’t take long for Carrera Cup newcomer Kévin Estre and seasoned campaigner René Rast to set out after the leader, taking turns in setting one fastest race lap after the other. But only once did the pursuers seem to have a slight chance when Edwards ran wide in the final corner. He briefly left the track but managed to rejoin the race. Edwards kept his cool all the way to the flag to claim his first win of the season. Estre finished in second place which also puts him second in the rookie classification.
Behind the leading three came two other makes cup professionals. In fourth place was Nicki Thiim. Driving for Hermes Attempto Racing, the Dane came under no pressure from behind but was unable to catch the top trio. The same applied to Dutchman Jaap van Lagen (FE-Racing by Land-Motorsport), who brought home a secure fifth place and collected crucial points. Austria’s Norbert Siedler, points’ leader of the international Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, repeated his result from race one securing sixth place. Starting from ninth on the grid, the Konrad Motorsport pilot made up three places through overtaking manoeuvres. Siedler stuck to the rear of Nicolas Armindo’s Attempto Racing Porsche over several laps. When the Frenchman overtook guest driver Jeroen Mul (NED, Team Bleekemolen), Siedler grabbed his chance, stuck close on Armindo’s bumper, and slipped by as well. In his perfectly set-up 911, Siedler then proceeded to bag the Frenchman. The 2010 Carrera Cup champion finished seventh. Philipp Eng (Austria, MRS GT-Racing), Michael Ammermüller (Germany, SWITCH IT Lechner Racing) and Jeroen Mul trailed in positions eight to ten respectively.
The two Porsche Juniors concluded a rather uneventful race just shy of the top ten. Michael Christensen (Denmark, Konrad Motorsport) came 12th, with Austria’s Klaus Bachler (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) finishing 13th.
On 30 April, the Monday after the race weekend, news station N24 televises the 30-minute “Porsche Carrera Cup Magazin” at 18.30 hours. Sport1 broadcasts Carrera Cup highlights on Tuesday, 1 May, from 16.30 to 17.00 hours.
Sean Edwards (winner): “What a race! I nailed the start perfectly and managed to edge away from the field. But then Kévin caught me so I had to push to extend the gap. But he came again. This game went on over the entire time. It was really exhausting. With my two pole positions from the first two Hockenheim races I should have been able to bring home two wins. But I’m happy that at least today worked out well after yesterday’s bad luck. I’m hoping to fight for the title this year.”
Kévin Estre (second): “I’m very pleased to climb the podium. My car was consistent from the start to the flag and this was the key to success. But I had to drive at the limit every second in order not to lose contact to Sean and to stay out of René’s way. So it’s all the more satisfying not to have made a mistake. My goal now is to be just as quick at the next round on the Lausitzring.”
René Rast (third): “I’m very satisfied - victory for Sean and third for me. What a great team result. Yesterday’s win and today’s result gave me a very good start in the team. Third was all I could manage today. I was absolutely at the limit and I think the other two were as well. It’s great to head home from the first race weekend leading the points.”
Michael Christensen (Porsche Junior, 12th): “Again my start was good, but unfortunately I was on the wrong side for the first corner. All in all it was a good race, and I made no mistakes. But we had problems with the car set-up, I didn’t have enough grip. Obviously I wanted to achieve more but I’m happy with my performance.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche Junior, 13th): “I had new tyres today and I actually expected more. But I have to admit that I made a few mistakes in the race and we just weren’t fast enough today. Now we have to analyse why I was not able to fully utilise my new tyres but at least I made it to the flag. I earned points and we continue next week. There we should take a step forward.”
Race 2 result
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 31:13.046 minutes
2. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 0.991 seconds
3. René Rast (D), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit/Pole Promotion, + 2.334
4. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 8.478
5. Jaap van Lagen (NL), FE-Racing by Land-Motorsport, + 9.465
6. Norbert Siedler (A), Konrad Motorsport, + 18.990
7. Nicolas Armindo (F), Attempto Racing, + 13.607
8. Philipp Eng (A), MRS GT-Racing, + 18.545
9. Michael Ammermüller (D), SWITCH IT by Lechner Racing, + 19.721
10. Jeroen Mul (NL), Team Bleekemolen, + 21.266
Points’ standings after 2 of 17 races
Driver
1. René Rast (D), 36 points
2. Nicolas Armindo (F), 27
3. Jaap van Lagen (NL), 26
4. Michael Ammermüller (D), 23
5. Nicki Thiim (DK), 23
Teams
1. Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 56 points
2. Hermes Attempto Racing, 41
3. Attempto Racing, 33
Amateur classification
1. Harrie Kolen (NL), Land-Motorsport, 40 points
2. ‘Bill Barazetti’ (D), MRS GT-Racing, 36
3. Christina Nielsen (DK), Farnbacher ESET Racing, 32
Rookie classification:
1. Philipp Eng (A), MRS GT-Racing, 20
2. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, 18
3. Michael Christensen (DK), Konrad Motorsport, 12
Preview for races 3 and 4 of 17 at the Lausitzring
Already this coming weekend, the Carrera Cup Deutschland heads to the Lausitzring, which is famous for its impressive main grandstand, for races 3 and 4. On the interesting 3.478 kilometre Lausitzring, Nicki Thiim celebrated his first victory in Germany’s fastest makes cup a year ago. Sean Edwards climbed the podium in second. After the first two races of the season, René Rast travels to the Lausitz region topping the points table.
Communication Porsche AG
Motorsportpress
Oliver Hilger
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